DAY EIGHT

7/17

Day eight took us to the West Bank of Palestine, to the city of Bethlehem.  It is both exciting and sad going over to Bethlehem.  Bethlehem being in Palestine, you have to go across the border and through the security check point at the wall.  Unless... you know the one bus route that is allowed to go the road that bypasses the check point.  We happened to be well informed and were able to do that route and forgo the security checkpoint.  

After we arrived in Bethlehem, at Nativity Square, we went to the main tourist attraction, the Church of the Nativity.  The Church of the Nativity is a Catholic/Orthodox church built over the cave, which is thought to be the birth place of Jesus.  The Orthodox portion of the church dates to the time of Constantine and has a portion of the original mosaic floor of highly detailed complexity.  There is also a Catholic church as part of the Nativity Church 'complex', which is a bit newer.  It is beautifully proportioned and has a restrained and mature level of detailing making the space very comfortable.  A beautiful rose window of orange and yellow above the organ in the apse of the nave floods the church with a wonderful golden light.  There are also several chapels built under the main portions of the church.  These chapels are built into caves, similar to that in which Jesus would have been born.  

 

The actual cave thought to be the one in which He was born is uncertain, but is commemorated in a cave under the alter of the Orthodox portion of the church.   

After visiting the Church of the Nativity, we bought a few things at the Bethlehem Tourist Center, the only real establishment dedicated to the promotion of the industry of tourism... the major source of income for Bethlehem.  We also had lunch at a nearby restaurant, which was owned by a Palestinian Christian.  It is my understanding that a large portion of the Palestinian population in Bethlehem is made up of Christians.